Palma de Mallorca 1968
The fourth Palma de Mallorca tournament gathered a formidable eighteen — the reigning World Champion Tigran Petrosian, his challenger-elect Boris Spassky, Bent Larsen, and Viktor Korchnoi among them. It was Korchnoi who prevailed, storming the finish to win clear first with 14/17 in what remains one of his most impressive tournament victories.
◈The strongest Palma yet
1968 brought the deepest field the tournament had seen. The reigning World Champion Tigran Petrosian took his place alongside Boris Spassky — who had just beaten Korchnoi in the 1968 Candidates final to earn the right to challenge Petrosian the following year — plus Bent Larsen, fresh from his own run of tournament triumphs, and a supporting cast that included Svetozar Gligorić, Borislav Ivkov, Pal Benko, and Florin Gheorghiu.
For Korchnoi, then, the event carried a subtext: a chance to answer the man who had just denied him a world-title match. He took it emphatically, finishing ahead of Spassky, Petrosian, and Larsen alike.
◈Won at the wire
With four rounds to play the leaderboard read Korchnoi 11/13, Larsen and Spassky 10, Petrosian 9. Rather than coast, Korchnoi settled the tournament head-to-head: he defeated Larsen and then Spassky in successive rounds, guaranteeing clear first before the finish.
He came home on 14/17, a point clear of Spassky and Larsen, who shared second and third on 13. Petrosian was fourth on 11½, Gligorić fifth on 10½, and Ivkov sixth on 10. Coupled with his win at Wijk aan Zee earlier the same year, Palma 1968 marked a high point of Korchnoi's late-1960s form.
◈Final Standings
| # | Player | Score | Record | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kortschnoj, Viktor Lvovich | 14/17 | +11 -0 =6 | games → |
| 2 | Larsen, Bent | 13/17 | +11 -2 =4 | games → |
| 3 | Spassky, Boris Vasilievich | 13/17 | +10 -1 =6 | games → |
| 4 | Petrosian, Tigran V | 11½/17 | +7 -1 =9 | games → |
| 5 | Gligoric, Svetozar | 10½/17 | +7 -3 =7 | games → |
| 6 | Ivkov, Borislav | 10/17 | +4 -1 =12 | games → |
| 7 | Benko, Pal C | 9½/17 | +7 -5 =5 | games → |
| 8 | Pomar Salamanca, Arturo | 9/17 | +4 -3 =10 | games → |
| 9 | Gheorghiu, Florin | 8½/17 | +4 -4 =9 | games → |
| 10 | Matanovic, Aleksandar | 8/17 | +3 -4 =10 | games → |
| 11 | Lehmann, Heinz | 7/17 | +2 -5 =10 | games → |
| 12 | Medina Garcia, Antonio Angel | 6½/17 | +4 -8 =5 | games → |
| =13 | Byrne, Donald | 6/17 | +2 -7 =8 | games → |
| =13 | Toran Albero, Roman | 6/17 | +2 -7 =8 | games → |
| =15 | Diez del Corral, Jesus | 5½/17 | +2 -8 =7 | games → |
| =15 | Visier Segovia, Fernando | 5½/17 | +2 -8 =7 | games → |
| 17 | Westerinen, Heikki MJ | 5/17 | +4 -11 =2 | games → |
| 18 | Calvo Minguez, Ricardo | 4½/17 | +1 -9 =7 | games → |
Cross Table
| Rank | Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kortschnoj, Viktor Lvovich | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | |
| 2 | Larsen, Bent | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 3 | Spassky, Boris Vasilievich | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 4 | Petrosian, Tigran V | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | |
| 5 | Gligoric, Svetozar | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 6 | Ivkov, Borislav | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | |
| 7 | Benko, Pal C | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 8 | Pomar Salamanca, Arturo | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 9 | Gheorghiu, Florin | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 10 | Matanovic, Aleksandar | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | |
| 11 | Lehmann, Heinz | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | |
| 12 | Medina Garcia, Antonio Angel | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 13 | Byrne, Donald | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | |
| 14 | Toran Albero, Roman | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 15 | Diez del Corral, Jesus | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | |
| 16 | Visier Segovia, Fernando | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | |
| 17 | Westerinen, Heikki MJ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | |
| 18 | Calvo Minguez, Ricardo | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 |
Each cell shows the row player's per-game results against the column player (in round order). ● = same player.
“By defeating Larsen and Spassky in successive rounds, Korchnoi guaranteed himself victory in the tournament.”